Manns Medium

Maybe it’s just me but has anyone else noticed that some cities’ seem larger and more difficult to than the federal government’s?  Has anyone else ever wondered why some cities spend so much money with nothing to show for it that actually betters that city or its citizens as a whole?  Maybe it’s me but before we attempt to advise another city or municipality about what they should be doing, shouldn’t we clean up our city first?  I mean that throwing stones and living in glass houses sort of thing. The reason I bring this up is this morning, I unrolled a copy of the Rockford Register Star, our local paper and saw a headline that says Rockford to go ahead on geopolicing.  The article was about finally placing police departments in three different areas of the city instead on one general location.  It spoke about hiring a consulting firm to come in and show them how it will look, buying up homes and buildings and then halting everything because the money was t...

I am sure you have heard the saying, be careful for you wish for.  Well the voters of Illinois are probably regretting their strong support and vote for Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner now.  Since taking office, many of the planned projects designed to better equip Rockford to join the 21 st Century have been put on hold as well as programs designed to help those struggling families of the Stateline being cut under the guise of balancing Illinois budget. Never mind that over 3 million dollars, which could have been used to fund many of the programs Rauner is, has or thinking about cutting was used to upgrade the governor’s mansion.  Supporters say that was because that money was slated for that cause so my question becomes hy then is he justified with taking the money slated for those services and using them for other purposes? Classic example is an article found on WREX.com from the Associated Press titled “Democrats to hold hearing on Rauner education czar's sa...

Received this email from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs around 7:24 PM yesterday 18 March 2015 in which they seemed excited to announce new improvements here let me have them tell you.  “Effective March 24th, 2015, VA is implementing improvements to make it easier for you to apply for benefits.  Online application tools, standardized forms, and a new intent to file process will create faster and more accurate decisions on your claims and appeals.  What does it all mean?  As part of the VA’s full-scale transformation in 2015, these new changes will: Streamline the benefits process, making it faster and easier Use standardized forms to file disability claims and compensation appeals Establish a new intent to file a claim process” Now to those who are or may not be aware, if the main issue was applying to benefits that you earned, this would be a welcomed change and things would began looking better for the less than 1% who don those uniforms and mak...

Stumbled upon this article titled “Commentary: Walker’s budget calls for schools to stop reporting sexual assaults” written by Shane Nicholson, Managing Editor of The Rock River Times.  It was so unbelievable that I had to read it several times to make sure that what I thought I read was really what I read.  If you haven’t read it, pick up the March 4-10, 2015 Volume 22 Issue and find it on page 12 in the Commentary Section.  I am sure you are not going to believe your eyes. The commentary reports that “ Buried in Scott Walker’s proposed budget for the state of Wisconsin, which calls for over $300 million in cuts to higher education, is a small note of massive consequence.  The Republican governor would like schools to cease the reporting sexual assaults on college campuses.  Here’s the passage in its entirety: 25. DELETE LANGUAGE RELATED TO SEXUAL ASSAULT INFORMATION AND REPORTING Delete the requirement that the Board direct each institution and colleg...

I remember when I was in school, how great my teachers made this nation of America sound and how proud I was to sing those songs like America the Beautiful which lead me to gladly donning that military uniform.  That was then and this is now, my pride still is as strong as it ever was but my fear is now America the Beautiful is now America the Hypocrite.  Thanks to so many who seem to have forgotten what those before us endured to gift us this awesome land of ours and began to look only at themselves when it came to getting as much and amassing as much material things as they can.  They only consider others when it is convenient for them or others are blocking their way up the ladder.  They only consider others when there is something that they need done but are too lazy or ignorant to do it themselves. Classic example, in my State of Illinois, it was reported that the funds for the mentally ill was broke and that services for them would have to be cut in order ...

When I first read this article presented by one of our local channels, WREX, I thought that I had misread it and had to read it again.  After reading it several more times, I was still overwhelmed by a sense of “what the heck” and then it occurred to me that maybe they had more information than this article provided.  Maybe they did know what they were doing and even if it appears like a severe waste of money, the information that was not published in this article made the decision sound. The article reported that “the Rockford Public School Board has approved a plan that will drastically change the district. The approved 10-year facilities plan includes closing eight elementary schools, building two new ones and adding on to 13 schools. The plan is expected to cost $250 million.  "I am confident that moving forward will be able to execute a facilities plan that is one that best serves our students," said Dr. Ehren Jarrett, Superintendent of RPS 205.  Approved a...

Many are applauding House Speaker John Boehner’s latest tirade where he finally puts the Heritage Action and other groups into the proper prospective but some are saying “too little too late”.  Mr. Boehner could have saved his party and raised the level of play in Washington to a much higher level by doing what he began to do with the “Grand Bargain”.   Had he completed this action, America would have to reconsider its thought of Republican governess and would have a completely different take on them as they have today.   But, alas, Mr. Boehner found himself hamstrung by his two most devastating mistakes far too early after taking control of the gavel.  His two major mistakes were inheriting Eric Cantor and Kevin McCarthy. With Eric Cantor, Mr. Boehner inherited a partner who was immediately embraced by sabotaging of the speaker in order to claim that gavel for himself.  History tells us that as soon as he was named as the number two man, Mr. Ca...

To hear reports coming from those reporters keeping a close eye on what’s going on in Washington, you would think we were talking about Hollywood.   Hearing how difficult it is to get things done and decisions made would make you think that life is so very hard there.   It’s not and it’s about time someone said what many of us have been thinking for far too long.   Washington is full of drama kings and queens. Take this debt reduction thing for instance, according to Andy Sullivan of Reuters he reports that the group meeting with Vice President Joe Biden is deadlocked over two items.   Two items, how that is possible.   That’s like spending six months in the cereal aisle of your local grocery store trying to decide which cereal to buy.   Not all Washington decisions may be easy but listen how Sullivan laid it out in his article titled “ Taxes on the menu in debt reduction talks ” and you tell me.   “Democrats say tax increases must be part of the s...

If you pay close attention to this article written by Terence Chea of the Associated Press article titled Schools struggle to recover amid years of cuts , you may finally begin to understand why government, state and federal, are not trusted so much when it comes to what’s best for children.   In one breathe you heard how they are looking out for the future of our children and grand children and in that same breathe the first thing on the chopping block when it comes to budgets is the only real vehicle our kids have to a better life, education.   "What's going on is so antithetical to what works in education," Elizabeth Old said. "I'm 27. I'll be able to work somewhere eventually, but there are kids who are going to miss out on their basic education."   The cutbacks are expected to have a disproportionate effect on low-income communities that cannot soften the blow of state cuts with aggressive fundraising or local school taxes. Advocates worry that c...

A large part of the media is spinning this win by the Democratic challenger Kathy Hochul as a referendum on Paul Ryan’s Budget Plan and while that appears to have a great deal to do with it a larger lesson is available for consumption.   That lesson is the message that was sent by those Republicans voters who chose Hochul over Republican state Assemblywoman Jane Corwin and just how strong the Tea Party may really be in the Republican Party. Lesson one is that Democrats, Independents, a good number of “real” Republicans and even a few Tea Party members no longer feel like they can trust the campaign promises and words of Republicans.   This was brought about when the current office holders promised to bring jobs back but instead spent all of their time concentrating on assaulting women’s reproductive rights and made no clear effort to fulfill any of the promises made.   The call for a smaller government while voting to increase government’s role in all pregnancies, the...

When I was growing up in a small town in Tennessee, we used to be warned all the time about putting the cart before the horse.   Now as a child, I would envision a cart in front of the horse and wondered why anyone would do that especially if they were looking to have the horse pull the wagon.   The GOP appears to be guilty of this very thing. Associated Press’ David Espo penned an article titled Medicare overhaul proposal causing GOP stress sighting “ With Congress just back from a week's vacation, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., indicated Monday that Republicans want to change the subject. Without mentioning Medicare, he said the House majority has been focusing recently on "how to address the deficit (by) cutting back on the expenditures."   Now, he said, the GOP will present a "growth agenda."   They campaigned and won in 2010 on job creation and deficit reduction.   When the new session was gaveled in their focus became strictly about aborti...